I had a little photo shoot with the kids today!

Well life has been really busy and really good lately. Tom has been so busy with his oral surgery rotation and being on duty that it’s almost like he’s out of town with a few visits here and there. I was dreading this month but so far it has turned out all right! Here are a few highlights:

At the beginning of the month we were able to go to Disneyland with D and A Brian and Paige. It was our first trip to Disneyland (we went to Disneyworld last January.) We all had a blast! Hayden didn’t even mind waiting in the lines because he was having so much fun with his cousins.

Danica is hilarious and such a cheese! She loves to pose for pictures while saying “cheese!” She is picking up new words everyday. She frequently yells for Hayden by saying his name when she wants him to sit at the table with her or follow her somewhere, etc. She says “sorry” if she bumps you. She loves to say “hi” to anyone that will look at her at the store or the people behind us in church. When I get her out of her crib after a nap she greats me with a big “hi!” Whenever she has a toy phone she says “hello... hello... hello.” She calls Alyssa “sissy” And my favorite new thing that she does is spinning around saying “Sashes sashes, down!” and falling down. Now I do know that for an almost two year old these are not monumental things to be saying but for our nearly silent child it’s monumental to us!!!

We bought a set of bunk beds on Craiglist and now Danica is sleeping in Hayden’s room so that Alyssa can take over the crib. She transitioned with no problem! She's such a fun kid.

Last week we had our first Cleveland visitors!!! While we lived in Cleveland I was able to babysit a little girl names Sophie. I started to watch her when she was about 3 months old and continued until she was nearly 4 (with a break after Danica was born). So her and Hayden grew up as best friends. Her mom had a work conference here in San Diego and decided to bring the family for vacation! Hayden was soooo excited to see her. All day long he kept saying “is she here yet?” We went to the zoo with them one day and then we went to Disneyland with them. We had a great time!! They had tons of fun being together and the other kids did really well so it was a really enjoyable time. Danica had her first visit with the Disney princesses!! She was so funny, once she knew what to do she was so excited to go see the next princess. There were three in a row and I tried to skip the last one but she insisted and went right up and sat by her!

Alyssa has really turned a corner and seems to be doing much better. She has always been adorable but was fairly fussy due to gas and who knows what else (probably the chaos of her siblings constantly in her face!) However, she seems to be feeling a lot better now and is sleeping better and is so smiley and fun!

Hayden’s Christmas and birthday wishlist are getting longer by the hour, he wants practically everything he sees on TV. And if it’s for a girl he says we should get it for Danica. Every time he is watching TV I can expect to be called to the room several times, he shouts “Hurry mom, you have to see this!!!” I don’t know how he is going to narrow it down!

Lastly, I was really busy last week with planning the Thanksgiving dinner for our ward. It was on Saturday night and seemed to be a big hit. We took what we learned from the Halloween party and things were much smoother this time. Tom was on duty so I got a babysitter for the kids while I was there setting everything up, then I had so many people offer to help with the kids it was great. I gave Alyssa to one of my friends and didn’t see her the rest of the night. My friend and her kids loved having a baby to play with and I loved having my hands free to refill the rolls, clean up water spills, find pie spatulas, ect. Hayden got a little bored (we were at the church for so long!) but he did well and so did Danica. I”m glad it’s over and maybe Tom will be able to be there for the next thing, a Christmas Ice Skating party!